Review: "Green for Danger" by Christianna Brand

Green for Danger by Christianna Brand
First published 1944
★★★★

A man dies on the operating table. At first it seems like a simple matter of chance, but as Inspector Cockrill digs in—and as someone else is found dead in rather more violent fashion—it becomes clear that a murderer is on the loose, and the pool of suspects is very small indeed.

First published in 1944, this is being brought back to life in a new edition, and it is a delight. I'd never heard of Brand before picking this up, but if Green for Danger is anything to go by, she was a force to be reckoned with. This is on the relatively lighter side of things—bodies do start piling up, yes, but the characters/suspects don't ever devolve into paranoia and anger, and there's a great deal of wit and humor to go around. I'm not all that interested in the inspector (he does tend to think himself quite superior), but the story focuses so closely on the rest of the cast that it actually took me a while to realize that this is one in a series featuring Cockrill.

It's helpful to go in aware that this was written some eighty years ago and is feeling its age—the publisher has included a note about problematic language and so on, but generally speaking there's also just a whole lot here that wouldn't pass muster if first published in 2023. But if you know that going in, and especially if (*cough*) you're already fond of the occasional piece of 40s or 50s genre fiction, it's a quick, atmospheric read that will keep you guessing about the details until the very end. I may need to see what other of Brand's books can be hunted down.

Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.